Komisarjevsky Jurors Hear Two Sharply Different Views In Closing Arguments

State: 'They Were Screaming For Their Lives'

Defense: He 'Did Not Intend' For Anyone To Die

NEW HAVEN — — At one point during closing arguments in his triple-murder trial Tuesday, Joshua Komisarjevsky slowly rose to his feet to face the jury that will decide whether he lives or dies.

He didn't speak and stood for a few seconds expressionless, dressed in a suit and tie, at the defense table. His mother, Jude, and sister, Naomi — their first time in court since the trial began — and his father, Ben, looked at him from their seats just a few feet away in the courtroom gallery.

Attorney Jeremiah Donovan turned to Komisarjevsky, and then to the jurors, reminding them of testimony in which Komisarjevsky confessed to acts committed during the home invasion, crimes that could put him in prison for the rest of his life. He reminded jurors they were told early on by the defense that what they heard at the trial "may shake your confidence in humanity."

But Komisarjevsky, Donovan said, never intended for Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela Petit, to die.

New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington was quick to discount the dramatic defense move. He portrayed Komisarjevsky as cold and calculating, a liar and the one in charge of leading the deadly July 23, 2007, home invasion.

He described Komisarjevsky, 31, a serial burglar on parole at the time of the killings, as a "gifted manipulator" whose own defense psychology tests showed that he was persuasive and had "superior" verbal ability.

"As he stood before you today, who was he trying to manipulate at that point?" Dearington asked the jurors.

Dearington and prosecutor Gary W. Nicholson said that it was Komisarjevsky who led the break-in at the Petit family's Cheshire home, beat Dr. William Petit Jr. with a bat and tied up the family.

Hawke-Petit, Petit's wife, was forced to go to a bank to withdraw money. Their home was later doused with gasoline and set on fire. Komisarjevsky's co-defendant, Steven Hayes, has admitted raping and strangling Hawke-Petit. State medical examiners testified that the girls died from smoke inhalation.

Dearington called Hayes a "puppet" and Komisarjevsky, he said, was "pulling the strings."

Nicholson reminded jurors that it was Komisarjevsky who spotted Hawke-Petit and 11-year-old Michaela at the supermarket hours before the home invasion. Nicholson said that Komisarjevsky stalked the family and took Hayes to the house.

Komisarjevsky "saw a beautiful young girl, attractive mother, a nice car and he wanted to know more ... he wanted what they had," Nicholson said. "Make no mistake, this intrusion was Mr. Komisarjevsky's idea."

Dearington focused much of his argument on the youngest Petit family member and her final hours alive. Komisarjevsky told police that he masturbated on Michaela and performed oral sex on her as she was tied to her bed. Prosecutors say that Michaela was sexually assaulted and cite testimony from a medical examiner that said a rectal sample taken from Michaela's body contained sperm.

Dearington referred to Komisarjevsky's audiotaped statement to police in which he says he "locked eyes" with Michaela and talked to her in her bedroom about music, "school and summer plans," and called her by her family nickname, KK.

Komisarjevsky told police that he thought she was between the ages of 14 and 16, but Dearington said if they had, indeed, talked about school, he would have known that she was a young girl who had just finished the fifth grade.

Dearington shook his head as if in disgust at Komisarjevsky's portrayal of his relationship with the girl as "casual friends" and "school chums."

Nicholson also focused on the final moments of the girls' lives, asking jurors to imagine what was going through the minds of Hayley and Michaela, who lay tied to their beds as gasoline was poured on them.

"Ask yourselves, what terror they felt ... they knew the end was near," Nicholson said. "Hayley and Michaela knew they were going to die a horrible death. They were screaming for their lives. They were screaming for mercy, any help they could get."

Nicholson reminded jurors that Komisarjevsky didn't untie them. "What did the defendant say he did? He closed the door. … Was he in a situation where he didn't want to hear their screams?"

Nicholson stood at a lectern in front of the jury and Petit family members and friends. The hushed courtroom was packed.

Nicholson noted that Komisarjevsky was certified as an emergency medical technician in two states. He reminded jurors that a psychologist who had testified for the defense about Komisarjevsky's cognitive function said he had trouble handling stress.

But, Nicholson said, EMT work is very stressful and if Komisarjevsky was certified as an EMT, he certainly could have handled the stress of that day.

"The truth is, with that EMT training, he could have saved their lives," Nicholson said. "He just had no interest in doing that."